TONAWANDA, N.Y. — The NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets announced on Friday the Ken-Ton School District Food Service Department will receive a $100,000 two-year grant through the Farm-to-School Program.
The grant will support the district's efforts to connect schools with farms, increase the use of locally-sourced products, teach students about where their food comes from, and inspire healthier eating habits.
Ken-Ton is one of 16 organizations or school districts across the state receiving a grant through the Farm-to-School Program. The purpose of the grant is to help organizations build capacity to ensure long-term sustainability and impact for farm-to-school programs as well as provide opportunities for students to learn about local agriculture and the food system and increase access to healthy, locally-sourced foods.
There will be new menu items, recipe demonstrations, taste tests in cafeterias and classrooms, cook kits for families, family food events, and more. Director of the Ken-Ton School District Food Service Department Kim Roll and Farm-to-School Coordinator Nicole Zugelder are at the forefront of the initiative.
“This work is connecting cafeterias, classrooms, communities, and kids,” Zugelder said. “Most of the students are four generations removed from working on a farm. They don’t have a deep connection with the food they are eating. They don’t know much about where their food originates and what happens before it gets to the grocery store. Now, there are meaningful conversations happening about school food where the kids are leading the learning.”
Zugelder is also visiting classrooms to educate students about where their food comes from. One recent lesson covered the entire life cycle of a pumpkin from seed to harvest and how it ultimately ended up as an ingredient in pumpkin pie.
A major component of this initiative is the Harvest of the Month program. A different theme is identified each month which inspires a healthy new recipe featured on the lunch menu, such as this month’s broccoli salad made with dried cranberries, cheddar cheese, red onion, and a honey yogurt dressing. Leading up to this, Zugelder travels throughout the district educating students about the ingredient, providing recipe presentations on specially designed demonstration tables, and then allowing students to sample the finished product and provide helpful feedback.
Each month will also feature a cook-kit related to the Harvest of the Month theme that students can bring home to continue the learning. In September, free baked-apple cook-kits with farm-fresh apples, butter, and cinnamon were sent home with Franklin Elementary students along with recipes and instructions.
“Students are much more likely to try a new menu item when they've already tasted it and learned about it,” Roll said. “All this excitement and engagement is inspiring students to want to try what the school cafeterias have to offer. This is resulting in more students than ever before taking part in the breakfast and lunch program. It’s teaching students to be healthier, too, and to eat a balanced diet which includes more locally sourced products.”
